Brake Caliper Refurbishment

[Nigel]

unclejam,
The disc will come off.
Yes, use some heat inside the right-angle, and once hot hit it with
a bigger hammer,a club hammer will do it.
Several heavy hits, turning it as well, should do it.

As long as the hub nut hasn't been loosened, the bearing should remain
in the same state. It is well supported by the axle.

Good luck
Nigel

[unclejam]

Thanks Nigel, yes it DID come off - thankfully without any apparent damage!
Now that I have had a good look, the reason this corner was also binding is now apparent: rusty discs and knackered pads are present of course but what it NOT present is the top locking wedge / slider!
This of course has meant that the caliper is not located properly in the carrier and must be moving around under braking. Not good.
Can anyone point me to where I might be able to find a replacement wedge / slider?  It is the nearside rear caliper, top wedge.  Any help gratefully received.

[unclejam]

Mind the gap!

[peteracs]

Hi

I probably have a spare one and may even find the spring clip. Let me know if you need me to hunt them out.

Peter

[unclejam]

Thanks for the offer Peter - Mark is hopeful that he has one and is looking tomorrow for me. If not, I may take you up on it.
 

[unclejam]

3 corners done - just the offside rear left.  It has been a lot more effort than I had expected but having dimantled and inspected everything - I'm VERY glad that I did!

[peteracs]

Hi

Nice looking car….

Peter

[unclejam]

Thanks Peter, it was resprayed and some bits and pieces restored about 6/7 years ago according to the limited history I have. Interior is original & excellent and everything works and the chassis appears to be solid and well-protected, although I have yet to scrape off the underseal for a "belt & braces" check! Sadly there was only paperwork from the 2015 owner onwards, who spent a lot of time and money on the car.  Ironically he lives in Plymouth not far from me, so I might try to contact him for a chat.
 
It was a very lucky find, being sold on Facebook Marketplace by a (dance choregrapher! ) guy who knew nothing about cars but liked the retro looks of the Spyder.
He had bought it from his neighbour for £4k and just wanted his money back!  By pure fluke, I spotted the advert 30 minutes after he posted it and after calling him to confirm, I jumped in my car and drove to Cardiff to pay for it there and then.   Whilst I was there looking at the car, he had two other phone calls offering him £6k and £7k to "gazump" me!
 
At that point, he realised that he had advertised it for way less than it's market value but to his credit, he did the deal anyway.   He felt it was going to the right person and I regaled him with the story of how a Beta Coupe was my first ever car and the sentimental value it held for me.  I was and still am chuffed to bits with the Spyder and it's getting a lot of love & attention currently. 

I will be making a video on the car to air on my Youtube channel (The Alfa Nut) in the next few weeks, so will let you all know when it goes out. 

[peteracs]

Hi

If I had of been much younger I would have had a stab at YouTube. There is precious little on there re Betas and most of it is not worth watching. The is one guy, Ottos Garage, who has a large number of videos on his restoration/construction of a Prisma Integrale, and ones like Harry’s Garage Fulvia restoration which are worth watching.

Sounds like he did steal it at £4K in this market, passing on to you for the similar amount does not count….. Though I suspect he would have been into some real money if he had to pay for the work you are doing to it.

Are you aiming to go to either Goodwood or Beta 50th with it?

Peter

[unclejam]

Hi Peter, I agree - most of the Youtube vids are pretty poor and not worth watching.  I would like to do a more personal review & drive on the car, as the Beta had a lot of significance in my motoring history.
I did think about the 50th meeting but it clashes with other stuff in my diary.  I might be able to show up for one of the days however - it would be great to meet everyone.  I will have to do a few more road trips meanwhile, to make sure that the Spyder will make the journey!

[unclejam]

This is the kind of video I like to make:
https://youtu.be/RFCFJkDzdXQ

[unclejam]

unclejam,
The disc will come off.
Yes, use some heat inside the right-angle, and once hot hit it with
a bigger hammer,a club hammer will do it.
Several heavy hits, turning it as well, should do it.

Another problem if anyone has any suggestions?  The top mounting bolt on the rear offside caliper carrier will not budge and the strut body fouls the bolt head so its impossible to get a ring spanner or socket onto it!
I don’t want to round off the bolt so after several hours of spraying with penetrating wd40 and struggling with a spanner, I am now thinking about grinding off a bit of the flange on the strut body which is in the way!
Anyone found a way round this?

[peteracs]

unclejam,
The disc will come off.
Yes, use some heat inside the right-angle, and once hot hit it with
a bigger hammer,a club hammer will do it.
Several heavy hits, turning it as well, should do it.

Another problem if anyone has any suggestions?  The top mounting bolt on the rear offside caliper carrier will not budge and the strut body fouls the bolt head so its impossible to get a ring spanner or socket onto it!
I don’t want to round off the bolt so after several hours of spraying with penetrating wd40 and struggling with a spanner, I am now thinking about grinding off a bit of the flange on the strut body which is in the way!
Anyone found a way round this?

You need to undo and remove one strut bolt and rotate the hub, that then gives you clearance, and yes just done this on the HPE.

Peter

[peteracs]

This is the kind of video I like to make:
https://youtu.be/RFCFJkDzdXQ

Hi Chris

Nice video and oddly that Alfa is the one I would choose.

Peter

[Nigel]

This is the kind of video I like to make:
https://youtu.be/RFCFJkDzdXQ

Great video Chris, and your production techniques are really good.
The car, of course, was the star.

regards
Nigel

[unclejam]

Thanks Gents, it was a special car for me growing up, so that video was an homage to the 60’s & 70’s and all the beautiful cars which were designed during that golden age.
My background is in photography and digital music production, so video editing was an easy transition!
I will be making a video about the Spyder for my channel too, as the Beta is also a touchstone of my youth!

[unclejam]

Caliper is off and now the next problem!
Piston will not retract far enough, despite screwing in as far as it will go.
Do I need to unhook the handbrake cable or something? 

[peteracs]

So long as there is no tension coming from the handbrake to the back of the calliper, it should be ok, if there is, then yes you should need to slacken the handbrake cable. If that does not sort it, not sure why you are still having and issue (crud build up on the piston?)

Peter

[unclejam]

Thanks Peter, it’s strange - there is no tension on the handbrake cable and when I push the handbrake lever, the piston moves out and back in again smoothly and the piston itself is clean and shiny, so I doubt there is anything blocking it’s movement.
It simply won’t adjust back into the caliper any further.  Winding it out by screwing anti- clockwise, it moves out faster than when screwing it back in, which is quite slow in comparison, like the screw thread is lower-geared in that direction. Impossible though surely?
The caliper seems to be working fine but I just can’t retract the piston enough to get the carrier around the new disc & pads. Grrr....

[Nigel]

Chris,
Just to note that the rear discs and pads are thinner than the front,
10.1mm and 7mm respectively, new.

The piston on the rear does not fully retract like the front, it remains
at about 4mm protruding from the body of the caliper.

Nigel